RTE presenter Will Leahy, who helms the breakfast slot on RTE Gold, told his listeners this morning: “Today could be our last day.”
The long-serving presenter’s abrupt words comes on foot of the shock announcement last night that RTÉ is to axe 200 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan - and digital station RTE Gold is part of this.
The plan will seek to reduce costs by €60 million over three years.
As part of these efforts, the national broadcaster will close its Digital Audio Broadcast network as well as RTE’s digital radio stations - including RTE Gold and stations such 2XM and RTE Pulse.
Lyric FM is to be retained but its production moved from Limerick to Dublin and Cork.
The plans will also see the pay of its top presenters cut by 15%.
This morning, Mr Leahy ditched his usual breakfast show playlist in favour of "funereal" tunes such as Frank Sinatra's One More for the Road and Star Star by The Frames.
From his studio in Limerick, Mr Leahy told his listeners: “The service you’re listening to now will cease to exist.”
“Today could be our last day. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week, it could be the 31st of December.
“All I know is what I read in the papers.”
The popular presenter said the studios this morning were “eerily quiet”.
He said ending of the service had “nothing to do with what we’re doing here”.
“It’s because we’re being broadcast on expensive technology that’s never really caught on,” he added.
Earlier he had tweeted that "the show must go on".
He added: "Could be an unusual show methinks. Watch out lads... Leahy’s going off on one... he might be hanging (sic) a meltdown..."
RTE Gold then trended on Twitter, leading fellow presenter Rick O'Shea to tweet: "You are all too, too kind. Thanks from all of us here at RTE Gold."
